


Love, Harry

by fempenny



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Children, F/M, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Marriage, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-18 13:47:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7317673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fempenny/pseuds/fempenny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Love, Rosie au. </p>
<p>Louis and Harry have been best friends since they were 5, so they couldn't possibly be right for one another... <br/>or could they? <br/>When it comes to love, life and making the right choices, these two are their own worst enemies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Difficult speeches and drunk kisses

**Author's Note:**

> This AU has probably been written a million times before, but I watched the movie last night, so I really wanted to write this.

The room is everything he had always envisioned. A beautiful, with gold decorated high ceiling, heavy broken white curtains and elegant centrepieces. It’s the perfect wedding. It’s exactly what they had dreamed of when they were still so little. And now that dream has come true.  
Well, for one of them at least.

Because in his version of the dream, he wasn’t sitting next to a gorgeous brunette in a white wedding dress. Louis however is.

Harry is startled out of his thoughts when he feels a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looks up and sees Zayn standing next to him with a slightly worried look on his face.

‘You don’t have to do this mate, I’m sure Lou will forgive you if you fake food poisoning now.’ Zayn says in a gentle tone.

‘No he won’t. Mostly because he’ll know that I’m lying. I’m a terrible liar remember?’

‘True’ Zayn nods, ‘so what are you going to do? Are you really going to stand there and tell everybody how great this wedding is? How this is the happiest day of your life?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe’ Harry mumbles. ‘But I’ll make the speech. He needs to hear that I’m okay with this. That if he’s happy, so am I.’

The look Zayn gives him, shows Harry that he isn’t convincing at all.

‘Oh god, I really can’t do this. What do I say?’   
  
‘Just say all the things you are forcing yourself to believe right now.’ Zayn tells him.  
  


 

When the wedding planner announces it is time for his speech he is still not ready.

_Okay, just take a deep breath. Start at the beginning. Tell them how you first met. Tell them how you shared your dreams, the ones for the future and the weird ones Louis gets when he forgets his tea before bed. Or maybe keep that as our secret. Tell them that you love him. That you’ll always love him._

‘Hello everyone. For those I haven’t got the chance of saying hi to, I’m Harry’ he says with his eyes fixed on Louis’s smile, the boy’s blue eyes seem even brighter than normal and Harry’s heart is beating faster than he thought was humanly possible. He has no idea how he manages to continue, because when he looks into the ever so familiar blue eyes, he feels as if he isn’t breathing.

‘And this has got to be one of the happiest days of my life.’ He continues, as he feels his heart break in a way he could have never imagined. 

 

 

 

**_12 years earlier_ **

It was loud, extremely crowded and they were dancing. Well, Louis was dancing and Harry was currently sitting on a barstool in front of him, taking his fourth shot of the night.  
  
Or was it his fifth already? Louis had lost count and they had only been here for an hour.  
  
He should probably tell the barman to start filling Harry’s shots with water soon, because he knew how well his best friend was at holding his liquor.   
  
But when Louis saw the happy look on the boy’s face, the way his eyes were sparkling, a smile so wide it had to hurt and dimples as deep as the ocean, he decided to wait a little longer. He would probably regret it later when he had to drag a vomiting Harry home and Harry would probably hate him for it tomorrow when he was having a terrible hangover, but he decided to be selfish a little bit longer.   
  
‘Best birthday ever!’ Harry slurred four shots later, waving his arms in the air. He looked at Louis and the wide grin on his face suddenly became a much smaller, much more private smile.   
  
‘I love you, boo’ he said. ‘Thank you so much for this.’  
  
‘I love you too Hazza, happy birthday.’  
  
Louis looked up at Harry as well and was suddenly very aware of their position. Over the last hour they had gotten closer and closer. Harry was sitting on the barstool again and Louis was now dancing almost between his legs. They were so close that even though it was loud and dark in the club, Louis was perfectly able to hear how Harry’s breath hitched a bit, to see how his eyelashes fluttered shut.   
If you asked him later who leaned in, he wouldn’t be able to tell. Maybe they both did, but one moment they were staring at each other, everybody else completely forgotten, the next moment they were kissing.   
  
Louis felt his own chapped lips move smoothly against Harry’s plump ones. He deepened the kiss and put his hand up to play with Harry’s curls at the same time he felt the boy’s hands rest on his waist. After what could have been either seconds, minutes or hours, Louis pulled away. They both smiled at each other and then Harry collapsed on his best friend.

 

 

‘I’m so sorry Anne. It’s all my fault, please don’t be mad at Harry.’ Louis tried immediately when the woman he knew almost as well as his own mother opened the door.

Anne smiled at him and gave him a one-armed hug.   
  
‘Nice try Louis, but I know my son. I don’t think he was completely innocent in this matter. Thank you for bringing him home though.’

Louis grinned sheepishly. ‘No problem. Is he up?’

The question didn’t need an answer, because before Anne could even open her mouth, Harry appeared on top of the stairs. He wasn’t wearing a t-shirt (and, if Louis knew him a little, probably no pants either) but had a big duvet around his shoulders, covering his whole body.

‘Why are you guys shouting?’ he complained. ‘Oh god, Lou, what did we drink last night? This is horrible.’

Anne simply winked at Louis and whispered ‘Good luck with that, love.’ Before heading towards the kitchen.

Louis walked upstairs and followed Harry into his room. Harry immediately fell down on his bed and groaned into his pillow.

Louis chuckled and went to the bathroom next to Harry’s room. ‘I’ll get you some aspirin sweet cheeks.’

‘Ugh, you’re best.’ Harry mumbled.

Louis stayed longer in the bathroom then necessary. He had been here so many times that he didn’t really have to look for the aspirin, but he needed some time to collect his thoughts. He wanted to bring up the kiss, but he had no idea how. He wanted to talk about it. He wanted Harry to say that he liked it. He wanted to do it again. It was the first time in the fourteen years that they had known each other that he was actually nervous to be around Harry.   
He looked in the mirror and decided that he was being ridiculous, so he grabbed the bottle of pills and a glass of water and entered the bedroom again.

He handed Harry the pills and water and got a grateful look in return. Harry swallowed one of the pills, gulped down the glass of water, let his face fall back onto his pillow again and groaned:

‘I’m so embarrassed about last night, Lou.’

Louis felt as if his heart was suddenly beating ten times faster. ‘O come on, you don’t have to be.’

‘Yes I do. I behaved so badly.’

Louis laughed at that and set down next to Harry. ‘I did too.’

‘Oh god, everything was terrible. I even feel sick thinking about it.’

Louis’s heart stopped beating fast and just totally dropped. ‘About what part exactly?’ he asked.

Harry looked up at him and rolled his eyes. ‘All of it. Everything. I just want to forget about it. It didn’t happen okay?

‘Everything, huh?’ Louis said and he leaned his head against the wall, trying to ignore the pain that was now spreading through his chest.

‘How did we even get home?’ Harry asked, sitting up now.

‘Oh uhm, mum picked us up. She was quite upset. Kept talking about how much of a bad influence I am on an innocent boy like you.’

‘It’s the curls.’ Harry grinned. ‘And she’s right you know. You totally are.’

‘Shut up.’ Louis huffed. ‘Well anyways, I have to help dad in the restaurant now for the next three weeks.’

He looked over at the boy next to him and saw him looking back with a guilty expression on his face.

‘I’m sorry’ he said apologetic and placed his head on Louis’s shoulder.

‘It’s okay.’ Louis responded and he wasn’t quite sure why he said the next thing. Maybe because he could still feel the pain in his chest. Maybe because Harry clearly wasn’t interested, because he continued: ‘It’s not too bad actually. Eleanor Calder is working there too so…’

Harry looked up at him in surprise. ‘Eleanor Calder as in the hot girl in you science class? Don’t even think about it. There is no way she’ll sleep with you.’

Louis looked fake offended at him. ‘Excuse you, I’ll have you know that she approached me the other day and said hello.’

‘Hmm,’ Harry said and for a second he looked lost in his thoughts. Then his eyes met Louis’s again and he teased: ‘It’s probably because she’s wondering why you’re wearing those godawful braces.’

Louis gasped. ‘You always love my braces!’

‘Yeah well,’ Harry grinned and started to wrestle Louis down, ‘today they just look a bit wrong. Let me fix them for you.’

‘Get away from me, you weirdo.’ Louis shrieked, trying to bat away the arms of the curly haired boy.

Harry pouted at him and Louis simply smiled back.

Everything was good between them.


	2. Flirting girls and wrong messages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry for the long delay.   
> My anxiety has been quite bad over the last couple of weeks, but hopefully updates are going to be more regularly as of now.

The sun was out and seeing as it was the first (and probably the last time) this summer, almost everybody of their year was spending the evening in the park.   
They had come to play football, but not long after they had started, Harry’s team had voted Harry substitute player and when Harry started glancing hopeful in Louis’s direction, the boy rolled his eyes and decided to join his best friend.

‘You are by far the worst football player I’ve ever seen.’ He said while sitting down next to Harry.

‘I’m not the worst.’ Harry pouted. ‘Do you remember that guy that was in your team for a week when we were in eight grade? I’m not as bad as he was right?’

‘How could I ever forget Jamie, he scored those two own goals in one match remember?  But I’m sorry babe, at least he could – ‘ Louis started, but before he could finish they were interrupted by a very tall, very blonde girl who was now standing way too close to Harry.

‘Hi Harry, you were really good out there.’ She said.

‘Oh thanks Taylor.’ Harry grinned, giving Louis a smug smile.

‘I’ll see you later.’ She winked ‘Bye Harry, bye Lewis.’ and then walked over to a group of guys on the other side of the field.

Louis glared at her back when she walked away. ‘Ugh, she is such a bitch’

‘But a very hot one.’ Harry responded with a cheeky smile. He was silent for a few seconds as if he was debating whether or not to actually say the next thing.

‘She asked me to go with her to the dance next week.’

Louis could literally feel his heart stop and drop to his stomach. ‘

‘Oh.’ He simply said. ‘Uhm, what did you say?’

Harry shot him a confused look. ‘No, obviously. I’m going with you.’

A big sense of relief came over Louis, but before he was able to say anything, they were interrupted again. This time by Eleanor.

‘Hi Louis.’ She said, pushing her hair back over her shoulder. ‘I missed you in the restaurant this afternoon.’

‘Uhm, yeah,’ he stammered. ‘I uhm, I was uhm, I mean I didn’t have to, you know’

Eleanor waved at Taylor, who was signalling her to come over. She smiled a last smile at Louis and said over her shoulder ‘Don’t be a stranger.’ Before walking over to the group of boys as well.

Louis watched her walk to the other side of the field and when he finally looked back to Harry, he saw the other boy looking back at him.

‘That. Was pathetic.’

‘Oh come on’ Louis said, shoving Harry’s shoulder. ‘She is definitely in to me.’

Harry raised an eyebrow. ‘Babe, it’s a miracle she didn’t trip over your tong, dragging halfway across the ground.’

‘Wow, Okay, alright then, give me some tips Mr. I’m The Best Flirt Ever. How do I go about seducing a girl who is _apparently_ way out of my league?’

‘Is that a serious question?’ Harry asked with a look on his face that Louis couldn’t quite read.

‘Yeah absolutely.’

‘Okay then. Well, you’re at a bit of a disadvantage, being a, you know.’ When Louis looked blankly at him, he whispered. ‘A virgin.’

‘But that’s okay.’ He immediately continued. ‘We can work with that. First, you have to be cool. Ignore her for a bit. Act like you could take it or leave it.’

Louis was about to make a sarcastic response to that, but Harry shot him a look, so he simply grinned and nodded.   
  
‘Second, you have to make her feel like you’ve seen something in her no one else has. Like, uhm, her soul or something.’

This time, Louis couldn’t keep silent. ‘I have to do that while still ignoring her?’ he asked.

‘Yes.’ was all Harry said.

‘Okay, fine, but what happens with the sex.’ He asked when Harry didn’t seem to have more points to make.

‘This is about the sex.’ Harry answered.

‘Oh my god.’ Louis groaned. ‘You are so fucked up.’

‘Hmm, you have no idea.’ Harry grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

 

They both watched the match in silence for a couple of minutes, but then Louis broke the silence and if you asked him later he could not tell you why he said what he said.

‘Apparently she wants me to take her to the dance.’

Harry didn’t look at him. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah, really. I mean, can you imagine?’ Louis asked.

Harry was silent for a moment too long, but then he looked up at Louis with a small smile on his face. ‘Take her. I mean, if it means that much to you.’

‘I – No, I don’t – I mean, you would have no one to go with.’

‘I got asked by the fittest girl of our year, Louis. I think I’ll be fine.’ Harry said, giving him a look that seemed almost challenging.

‘Oh, so this is actually quite convenient for you?’ Louis asked, trying but not completely succeeding to keep the sharp tone in his voice to a minimum.

‘Yeah,’ was all Harry answered.

‘Fine. I’ll go ask her then.’ His voice now on the borderline of angry.

‘You should.’ Harry responded with the same sharpness.

Louis stood up and walked over to the skinny brunette, trying to ignore the eyes he could feel burning in his back of the boy he so desperately wanted to take to the dance.

‘Hey Eleanor, do you want to go to the dance with me?’

 

 

 

They were fine the next day. Louis picked Harry up before school the same way they had done for years. They chatted like they did every day and nothing was wrong.    
When Harry invited himself to stay at Louis’s house after school to stay for dinner and curl up on the couch with Louis to watch Disney movies with him and his sisters, the whole scene of the evening before was forgotten.

Except it wasn’t really.

 

 

 

It was the next week, the day before the dance. They had class in the computer room and everybody was silently working on the English assignment they had to turn in in a couple of days when Harry got a message.

**Your face is annoying me. x**

He looked up and saw Louis grinning at him. He started typing a response, but before he was able to send that, he got a new message.

**Btw, I’ve got news ^^**

**  
Me too, I actually need to concentrate on this paper so I can pass this class and get out of here. xx** was what he responded.

Not long after he send the message he got another one. He ignored it for a while, but Louis kept giving him encouraging looks, so after a having typed a few more sentences to his essay, he read the message.

**This virgin boy is no longer. (;**

He read the message again. And then again. And then he simply stared at his computer screen, not wanting to look up and see the familiar blue eyes shining back at him. Apparently ignoring this wouldn’t make it go away, because he received another message.

**Hello? You still there?**

**So who is the unlucky person?** Was what Harry decided to ask. He looked up to see Louis read the question and saw the smug smile forming on his face. Please let it not be Eleanor was all he could think when he waited for the answer. Please not her.

**ELEANOR!**

‘Fuck.’ Harry thought. And apparently said aloud as well, because now the whole class was staring at him, including the teacher, who gave him a stern look.

‘Uhm, I’m sorry.’ He said. ‘I just really, uhm, I need to use the bathroom.’ And while avoiding the questioning look on the face of his best friend, he hurried out of the classroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this, I really hope you liked it.


	3. Prom dates and future plans

Louis was nervous when he ringed the doorbell, but when his best friend opened the door he couldn’t help but smile a little. Harry was wearing an oversize t-shirt and a pair of joggers that were so tight that they were probably Louis’s. He had just gotten out of the shower, because his hair was still wet, and he reminded Louis a lot of a baby Tarzan. He looked extremely cute. He also looked a bit surprised to see his best friend standing in front of him.

‘Hi’ Louis said before giving Harry the chance to say or ask anything. ‘I know we haven’t spoken since yesterday, but uhm, I sort of need help with my tie.’ He waved the bowtie in front of Harry’s face to emphasise his point.

It was a lame excuse. He knew it and he knew Harry knew it, but all the boy did was smile and open the door wider.

‘Of course, come in. After that you can help me with my suit.’

 

 

An hour and a half later, Louis was sitting on Harry’s bed, bored out of his mind. Of course his tie had been fixed in a couple of minutes and after that he’d been waiting for Harry to dress himself and do his hair.

‘Come on Styles, I know it’s hard to make a face like your own look presentable, but you’ve been in there for ages. Can you at least show me what you’ve got so far?’

‘Uhm yeah, okay. I’m just not entirely sure about this look, so promise me not to laugh okay.’ He heard Harry say from the bathroom.

Seconds later, the bathroom door opened and Louis’s mouth dropped.

Harry was looking breathtakingly beautiful. He was wearing a black suit with a matching black shirt, but in total Harry Styles style, the shirt was almost completely unbuttoned, showing off his toned chest and the bird tattoos on it. He was also wearing a thin black and white scarf and a black fedora was placed on his curls. Louis normally hated scarfs and he had always thought that fedoras were a stupid hipster invention, but of course Harry made them look effortlessly cool. He wanted to say exactly that, but his mind felt too hazy to form any sentences.

Harry clearly interpreted his silence the wrong way.

‘Oh God, you hate it don’t you? Is it the scarf? It’s the hat isn’t it? I knew the hat was too much, I just didn’t feel like wearing a plain – ‘

At this point Louis’s mind thankfully started working again.

‘Harold, shut up.’ He interrupted.

Harry was full on blushing now. ‘I feel stupid, give me just one more second so I can change and then we’ll –‘ he continued, turning around to go back to the bathroom, but before he got there, Louis jumped up, grabbed his arm and forced the boy to turn around.

‘Hazza, shut up.’ Louis said, more forcefully this time. ‘You’re being an idiot. You look stunning.’

Harry was blushing even harder now. ‘You really think so?’

‘Of course I do. I mean, you look completely indecent,’ Louis answered with a smile on his face, patting Harry’s bare chest. ‘But you look good. Really good.’

The smile he got in return was so bright that probably even a blind man would have to look away.

Twenty minutes later they were driving to school. The dance was held in the gymnasium and both Louis and Harry had arranged to meet their date at the venue. They weren’t talking much, but it wasn’t awkward either and when Louis parked the car in the carpark they both stayed there for a while, just sitting in silence.

Then Harry looked up at him, but just as he started to say something there was a knock on the window.

‘Hi gorgeous.’ Taylor’s high voice chirped, grabbing Harry’s arm and practically dragging him out of the car. All Harry could do was look over his shoulder and wave apologetic at Louis.

Louis smiled and waved back, but as soon as Harry turned around, took Taylors hand and escorted her to the entrance of the building, his smile turned into a scow. ‘Bitch’ he mumbled.

 

 

The dance was fine, Harry thought. The music was good, the room was the perfect size for the amount of people that were there and everybody seemed to be having a good time.   
  
Especially Louis.

He hadn’t given Harry much attention the whole evening, because all night a beautiful brunette was all over him. Yes, he had to admit, Eleanor was a good dancer, but did she really have to wiggle her skinny ass against Louis that much? Did she really have to kiss him every couple of songs? It made him feel slightly nauseous.

Harry turned around and tried to focus his attention back to his own date again, but he couldn’t help to glance over at Louis a couple of minutes later. When he saw that his best friend was having a heated snog session with Eleanor, he immediately turned back to Taylor again and pulled her closer.

‘Do you want to get out of here?’ he whispered in her ear in what he thought was a very seductive way.

 

  
The dance was almost finished, he had just said goodbye to Eleanor and now, Louis was slightly drunk. He was also a lot annoyed. Annoyed with Eleanor, because even though she was great fun, she just wasn’t enough. Annoyed with himself, because why couldn’t Eleanor be enough? But most of all annoyed with his annoyingly beautiful best friend, because Harry wasn’t here anymore. Because he’d seen him leave with that stupid blonde forty minutes ago and he still wasn’t back. Because now all he could do was picture whatever they were doing that took this long.

He grabbed his phone and was just about to text Harry that he needed to find some other transportation, because he was going home, when his phone started ringing. Without checking who it was, he answered it.

‘Lou? I’m really sorry, but can you please come and pick me up?’

It was clear that Harry tried to hide it and anybody else probably wouldn’t have noticed it, but Louis had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, so he could clearly hear the way Harry’s voice broke at the end of the sentence.

‘Harry, love, are you alright? Are you hurt? Where are you?’ he asked, immediately worried.

‘Yeah it’s – I’m fine Lou, I’m not hurt.’ Harry muttered, definitely crying now. ‘I uhm, I’m at Taylor’s. Well outside of Taylor’s. Just pick me up, okay?’

‘Yeah of course.’ Louis responded. ‘I’ll be there as soon as possible.’

 

 

Half an hour later they were both sitting on the hood of Louis’s car.   
When Louis had picked up a teary Harry, they had both silently decided not to go home yet, so instead they had driven to the nearest 24 hours Starbucks and now they were sitting in a carpark, sipping on their coffee.

Louis wanted to ask Harry what happened, but he also didn’t want to push him, so he just stayed silent, which turned out to be okay, because not much later, Harry started talking.

‘We had sex.’ He said bluntly.

Louis swallowed. Then swallowed again.

‘Okay.’ He said. He wanted to say something else, ask something, but he didn’t trust his voice enough, so he didn’t.

‘Then she told me I wasn’t as good as Bradly and that if I wanted to keep dating her I had to stop wearing that ‘horrible’ scarf and start properly buttoning my shirt.’

The lump in Louis throat was now from a different sadness.

‘Oh Hazza,’ He started, but before he could say more than that Harry started talking again.

‘It’s fine. I didn’t like her that much, so it’s not like I’m heartbroken or anything, it’s just. I’m embarrassed you know?’ Harry said, looking at Louis with such a vulnerable expression that Louis felt like he _was_ heartbroken.

‘She is a bitch and an idiot H.’ he said. ‘You are perfect just the way you are and _she_ should be the one that’s embarrassed, because she let the best thing that could have ever happened to her slip away.’

Harry didn’t say anything, just drank some more of his coffee and looked away.

‘You know what.’ Louis continued. ‘We should get out of here.’

Harry looked back at him. ‘What do you mean? Like, go home?’

‘No, actually out of here. Out of this town, away from all these people. To Boston, Massachusetts.’

‘Oh, are you saying I made such a fool out of myself that I should be fleeing the country.’ Harry laughed, raising an eyebrow.

‘I’m serious, we’ve been saying it for years and I mean look at this place.’ Louis responded, gesturing to the place they were now sitting. ‘This place is a dead end. And, uhm, my mother sort of wants me to apply for a scholarship for Harvard.’

‘You _are_ serious.’ Harry said with a curious smile

‘Yeah, I mean, I also looked at Boston College and found out that they have one of the best culinary educations in the world.’ Louis shrugged. ‘But only if you still want to do that obviously. And if you want to do it with me, of course.’

The smile on Harry’s face was more than enough to answer that question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it, please leave a comment, it means the world to me! 
> 
> The look I had in mind for Harry was the outfit he wore to Jay's wedding (:

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!   
> I'll try to update this every monday. 
> 
> Check out my other story as well (Till it kills you both)


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